Lake County law enforcement offering scholarships

Graduating seniors studying youth social service or law enforcement are eligible

February 06, 2013|By Jamie Greco, Special to the Tribune

College students in Lake County may be able to get some help with tuition this year, both from the Lake County Sheriff's Office, which is offering scholarships through the Illinois Sheriffs' Association, and the Lake County Juvenile Officers Association.

"It's one way that we can give back," said Sergeant Sara Balmes of the Lake County Sheriff's Office. "With the rising tuition costs, we want to make sure that we can assist with the burdens of those costs."

The statewide sheriff scholarship program, which will award $53,000 to full-time college students attending a certified Illinois school during the 2013-14 academic year, will make a $500 award available through the Lake County Sheriff's Office. The Lake County Juvenile Officers Association also is awarding five $500 scholarships to seniors enrolled in Lake County high schools, according to Wendell D. Russell, the executive director of the Lake County Juvenile Officers Association.

Lake County students are encouraged to apply for the sheriff association grant, an annual award since 1979, or the juvenile officers association award, should they meet the criteria. The sheriff association money, though, can only be applied to tuition, fees and books, and can't be used for a summer session.

Applications for the sheriff association grants can be competitive, according to officials with the statewide organization.

"Every county gets multiple applicants," said Greg Sullivan, executive director of the Illinois Sheriffs' Association. "The smaller counties get about 15 to 20 and possibly in the hundreds in the larger counties."

Those applying for the juvenile officers' scholarship have to live in Lake County, be graduating from a Lake County high school this spring, be enrolling in a college or university this fall and be majoring in a field related to youth social service or law enforcement.

The application for the sheriffs' association grant requires an essay on the subject of synthetic marijuana, commonly known by such names as SPICE, K-2 and Mad Hatter, among others. The drug is marketed as a legal alternative to marijuana. In the essay, students need to discuss the substance and how it would affect governments, law enforcement, schools and medical providers.

The topic is of particular concern to the sheriff's association, officials there said. According to Sullivan, the substance is hazardous and sends users to emergency rooms every weekend.

"(Users) think (the drugs are) safe because they are being sold in these stores," Sullivan said, but "they're actually full of chemicals that can really hurt them."

Applications for the sheriffs' scholarship are currently available at the Lake County Sheriff's Office in Waukegan and on the sheriff's office's Facebook page. Applications for the juvenile officers' award can be found on the Lake County Juvenile Officers Association website.

The deadline for the sheriff's office scholarship is March 15, and the deadline for the juvenile officers' scholarship is April 30. All material must be postmarked by that date.

Further information is available from the Lake County Sheriff's Office, the Illinois Sheriffs' Association or the Lake County Juvenile Officers Association.